Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) Downgraded to “Equal Weight” at Stephens

Stephens lowered shares of Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI – Get Rating) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $55.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $65.00.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ITRI. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Itron from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Itron from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Itron from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 25th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Itron from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Itron from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $68.40.

Itron Price Performance

Shares of Itron stock opened at $51.64 on Friday. Itron has a 12-month low of $43.18 and a 12-month high of $86.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.49.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.14). Itron had a positive return on equity of 4.45% and a negative net margin of 5.15%. The business had revenue of $431.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $488.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Itron will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, CFO Joan S. Hooper sold 627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.36, for a total value of $30,948.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,488,188.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,015 shares of company stock worth $48,923 in the last ninety days. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itron

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ITRI. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Itron by 159.3% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 980,317 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $67,171,000 after purchasing an additional 602,274 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Itron by 233.6% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 622,483 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,793,000 after purchasing an additional 435,870 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Itron during the first quarter worth $13,588,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Itron by 216.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 290,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $15,296,000 after buying an additional 198,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Itron during the fourth quarter worth $9,576,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.15% of the company’s stock.

About Itron

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Itron, Inc, a technology and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage operations in the energy, water, and smart city space worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing.